The First 90 Days

It sounds like a dream job: a major player in the street rod field makes a request. The pitch: he wants you to build, from scratch, a giveaway car. The ultimate car. The most bitchin' thing...ever. To add to that, the job comes with a bit of equity: according to the promoter, the project's publicity power should literally fling vendors' doors open; they'll offer you whatever wares and services you may need to get their name attached--just to be part of the magic.

Yeah, right. As if it's that easy.

Truth be told, the events that transpire to take a promotional car from pretty big parts pile to a pretty cool machine are mind-boggling. Pitfalls imperil the intrepid builder at every corner. Some vendors slam the door when pressed for donations. Others pawn off unmarketable parts to pad their taxable losses. A select few will even proffer "new and improved" equipment that has no business on a car...much less a street rod. It's incredibly difficult to maintain visual integrity while battling for the ideal parts. It's a very generous and trusting soul who will actually yield a particular component for a specific purpose.

And that's the generous and trusting soul Cornhusker Rod & Custom's Gary Mussman wanted to deal with when the National Street Rod Association commissioned him to build their 2004 giveaway car. "I told 'em, I was only going to build this thing if I had complete control over the deal and could get the parts I wanted," he said. "So many builders go broke just trying to finish these things."

He started with a Cornhusker datum: their '32 Ford chassis. Cornhusker bases their frames on American Stamping Corporation rails, boxes them, and equips them with their tried-and-true crossmember kits. To fit the confines of the project, Cornhusker pinched the front ahead of the cowl. They C-notched the rails to clear the spring under the Model A-style crossmember. Out back they bobbed the rails and kicked them up for rear axle clearance.

Hot rod legends Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts offered one of their trademark frontend assemblies, including their hairpins, batwings, steering components, and shocks. Cornhusker pinned the components to one of Super Bell's dropped axles and spindle sets. Capping those spindles is a SO-CAL Speed Shop brake kit. An aluminum Flaming River steering box and Borgeson joints guide the frontend, and a POSIES transverse Superslide spring keeps it off its chin. Deuce Factory's stainless tie rod ends and spreader bar finished the front.

Cornhusker offered good reason to bob those rails out back: a polished Winters Performance quick-change rearend. It sports a Winters limited slip differential, Currie Enterprises axles and drums, Pete & Jake's ladder bars, and a 3.50:1 gearset. Like the front, the rear hangs from Pete & Jake's shocks and POSIES springs--this time quarter elliptic springs. A Wilwood proportioning valve in the Pure Choice stainless lines keeps brake bias in check and the rear drums wear SO-CAL Speed Shop finned aluminum brake drum covers.

For rollers, Cornhusker commissioned Wheel Vintiques for a set of their 15x5 and 15x7 Gennie-series rollers--in steel, thank you. He poked those into a set of Coker Tire's BFGoodrich Silvertown wide-white radials in 165R-15 and 255/70R-15 dimensions. The hoops wear Bob Drake caps and rings.

GM Performance Parts ponied up one of their road-proven ZZ4 crate mills. Cornhusker dolled the mill up in Mooneyes center-bolt valve covers, a Southern Rods & Parts water pump, and a Mallory ignition with Taylor wires. A Powermaster starter kicks things over while one of their high-output alternators on Alan Grove's brackets maintains the electrical system.

Cornhusker crowned the engine with one of Hot Rod Carburetion's induction systems. The kit included a polished Offenhauser manifold, three Rochester 2G carburetors, and Hot Rod Carburetion's time-tested linkage kits and tuning. Sonny Mac's cast air filters keep the bugs and boulders out of the induction system. To balance the inlet side, Sanderson Headers provided a set of their lakes-style Limefire headers. They, in turn, lead to a Moore Power Coating metallic ceramic-coated Never Rust exhaust system. A Walker radiator and Cooling Components fan keep things from breaking a sweat.

TPI Performance Transmissions stepped up to the plate with a well-prepped TH350 transmission. TPI loaded the gearbox with a mild shift kit and a power-matched torque converter. Lokar supplied the shifter, while The Driveline Shop in Springfield, Missouri, whipped up a fresh driveshaft.

For a body, Cornhusker pulled Brookville Roadster aboard. They supplied one of their extended '30-31 roadster pickup cabs. Grand Island, Nebraska's The Body Shop filled and pie-cut the cowl to give it sleeker proportions. To enhance the cut, Cornhusker chopped Speedway Motors' windshield assembly 4 inches and canted it back 3 inches. Before the Obsolete Ford Parts insert met the Brookville shell, Central Coast Powder Coating shot the center bars red. Cornhusker supplied Hagan Street Rods Necessities with templates and they, in return, fabricated a hood for the occasion.

The Body Shop shortened the stock Model A box 8 inches and installed the Brookville Roadster roll pan to it. Gary and Dean Gerberding prepped the car with Paint N Products equipment and shot the assembly in PPG-mixed GM Wheatland Yellow application. Once the paint kicked, Omaha's Jim Curen striped it and Cornhusker dolled the roller up with Bob Drake Reproductions' lights and rubber. Gardner-Wescott supplied all the requisite fasteners and Cornhusker fabricated an under-bed polished stainless tank from components supplied by Tanks, Inc. Pure Choice lines pipe the juice to the mill, while Precision Plating brightened all the miscellaneous hardware and Guide Headlights' rings.

The Brookville body came with a '32 roadster-style dashpanel, which Cornhusker summarily filled with a SO-CAL Speed Shop insert. The insert boasts a FPM Inc. damascened face and Stewart-Warner Wings-series gauges. Cornhusker wired the pickup with components from Affordable Street Rods and Ron Francis Wiring. Cornhusker topped off one of their trademark flare-topped Ford-style steering columns with a Juliano's Hot Rod Parts banjo wheel. Before leaving the shop, Cornhusker insulated the cab with Insulshield Technologies' energy damping mats. Lincoln Auto Upholstery custom fabricated a seat and doorpanels to make the most of the cabin space. Lincoln covered them with red leather and trimmed the floor in red German square-weave carpet that Interior Supply and Services offered. Juliano's also supplied the red-banded seat belts. And while it's not exactly interior, the California Car Covers cloth cover is fabric.

That's quite a load to complete on its own, but consider this: Cornhusker took the car from a bare chassis to finished driver in 90 days--finishing just three days before the NSRA Nats in Louisville, Kentucky. So, all this talk prompts the big question: is it nice? Well, Mussman put it this way, "When we got finished, I realized I didn't want to let the car go!" Without a doubt, this is one fine rod and quite possibly one of the finest giveaway candidates--ever. Whoever the lucky NSRA participant is that drives this car off is one lucky cuss.